This year started as dynamic and energetic as 2007 ended. We see growth in new markets and new regions but also the expansion of business in more established markets like Agriculture and GIS/Mapping. This makes us very confident for the year 2008.

This newsletter will give you an update on our services, applications, marketing and products. Please contact us if any of this leads to questions, solutions or maybe new possibilities.

Thank you for your business, support and help. We look forward to meet you during one of the upcoming events,

Cor de Kuijper
European Commercial Manager

Cascade AS (Tønsberg, Norway) and their Indian subsidiary Reli-e-Marg develop scalable, flexible and modular grid Information systems for utility companies. Cascade / Reli-e-Marg's customers can be found among utility companies dealing with electrical transmission and distribution, telecom and broadband, water and sewage as well as gas and heating in India and abroad.

Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corpo-ration Limited (CESC) in Mysore, India has selected Cascade / Reli-e-Marg's OpenNIS as their new grid information system. The OpenNIS Field Management system is a portable GIS package running on a ruggedized tablet PC. The system is used by CESC to collect geographical information related to electricity distribution assets in the field, i.e. to take positions of all their electricity poles, substations and underground cables.

OmniSTAR was selected by Cascade / Reli-e-Marg as the supplier of the positioning component of their OpenNIS Field Management solution. The OmniSTAR DGPS units will be used to trace the actual path of underground cables. OmniSTAR was selected because of its coverage, its ease of use in a mobile environment and its high accuracy in the area of operation.

OmniSTAR HP is an excellent tool for recording precise position information while searching for un-exploded ordnance, mines and other buried objects. Meanwhile numerous construction companies, institutes and humanitarian aid agencies are using OmniSTAR HP for this application all across the world.

Basic system set-up consists of a high-grade metal detector or ground penetrating radar in combination with a logging device and an OmniSTAR HP DGPS receiver. Often the detection system consists of multiple sensors mounted on a wheeled frame that is either pushed by hand or towed behind a vehicle or quad bike.

Using guidance software as supplied by manufacturers of detection equipment or in combination with a guidance system as seen with GPS guided tractors, a whole field can be surveyed quickly (without the need for time consuming survey grid set up) using markers. OmniSTAR DGPS and detector data will be stored simultaneously on a logging device.

After data analysis, magnetic or radar anomalies can be identified. If necessary the contractor can then elect to dig at specific locations to identify and possibly safely remove the detected object.

Seismic surveys are conducted to determine subterranean geological structures that may contain petroleum, natural gas or mineral deposits.

The technique is based on measuring the time interval between the initiation of a seismic wave at a selected location and the arrival of reflected or refracted impulses at one or more seismic detectors after having travelled through the earth and back.

On land the method requires a controlled seismic source of energy, such as explosives, a specialized air gun or vibrators (also known as thumper trucks). Vibrator trucks are large vehicles that shake a vibrating pad through a known frequency band. By recording the time it takes for a reflection to arrive at a receiver, it is possible to visualise structures and estimate the depth of the feature that generated the reflection. The sound waves are recorded by geo-phones, devices that very accurately measure movement of the earth in three directions X, Y and Z.

OmniSTAR services and systems, in particular HP and XP, with decimetre level accuracy are being used in land seismic surveys for navigation of vibrator trucks as well as to accurately locate / position the geophones. OmniSTAR is ideal for seismic surveys in remote locations as no further infrastructure (i.e. a local reference station) is required to operate the OmniSTAR system.

OmniSTAR is increasingly being used by numerous seismic survey companies, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa.

Together with Fugro Aerial Mapping (Fli-Map) OmniSTAR exhibited at the Intergeo-East, Belgrade this year again. Together under the Fugro Geospatial Services umbrella we received a great deal of interest from various professional and scientific organizations involved in GIS and Survey. Mostly from Serbia, but also from neighboring countries. Our Eastern European market is grwoing rapidly and EU funds are supporting the development in the region. This creates opportunities for new activities in the surveying, GIS and mapping world.

Next year we plan to be again at the Intergeo East, which then will be held in Istanbul, Turkey.

Recently Trimble released the Pro-XRT. Real-time decimeter accuracy with OmniSTAR HP/XP couldn’t be easier. The OmniSTAR antenna is integrated, so there’s no need to carry any extra equipment. The GPS Pathfinder ProXRT receiver is also capable of using the OmniSTAR VBS service for instantaneous submeter accuracy.

Combining Trimble technology and the OmniSTAR service, and with the option of GLONASS support on top of dual frequency GPS, the GPS Pathfinder ProXRT receiver is a versatile tool offering you high accuracy worldwide.

As of last January 2008 OmniSTAR broadcasts over 2 new High Power beams.

1) AOREH at 15 degrees west covering Africa, Europe and the Middle East at frequency 1535.075 Mhz and data rate of 600 bps.
2) IORH at 70 degrees East covering Europe and Asia at frequency 1535.1575 Mhz and data rate of 600 baud.

At this time these satellite beams are used only as a back-up possibility for OmniSTAR services.

Since a few months we've added the OmniSTAR blue PELI case to our OmniSTAR product list.

The blue case is watertight and dustproof. This makes it perfect for surviving even the toughest conditions that can be found in the field, just like professionals demand. You can put all your precious survey equipement safely inside. It is also possible to place two padlocks on the lid to provide extra security.

The dimensions of our blue case are: 45 cm x 32 cm x 18 cm, which makes it perfect for you to store all your OmniSTAR equipment like receiver, antenna and all needed cables. The case is fitted with a purge valve especially for aircraft transportation.

Most GPS receivers report the PDOP and number of satellites available. Although these are valid quality parameters, they are limited as they do not take into account multipath, which is the most common source of error in urban areas.

The 5120VBS uses the largest residual range error to calculate its effect on the horizontal position. If this exceeds a specified limit (Default 10 meter, but user adjustable) then the receiver will not output any position. This is a perfect feature for customers requiring a position better than a specified value.

The OmniSTAR network broadcasts information about current and future satellite services. Setting receivers to the Automode will enable automatic switching of satellite beams based on both location in the world and the availability of local reference stations.

We have updated our View8300 program and renamed it "View8305", as it now also fully supports the 8305HP OmniSTAR receiver.

View8305 extracts all OmniSTAR relevant items from the 8305HP receiver and visualizes the content on one single screen for support purposes. It also provides a scatter plot and skyplot feature.

Improvements:

1) Support of Auto OmniSTAR Satellite selection.

This option is available from Firmware 3.210 and allows automatic selection of OmniSTAR Correction satellites based on the location in the world. OmniSTAR broadcasts over its satellite network current and future OmniSTAR capable satellites One can download the latest firmware from here.

2) Improved showing of available options.
3) Label any Field as Green/Orange/Red to give better status support.
4) Use of multiple colours for windows to help with telephone support.
Removed some obscure crash situations.
6) Bug in HP Solution status warning, fixed: Now this field is not always in fully converged mode.
7) End date of subscription and GPS time is used to see if subscription is expired.
8) With the Count Down Timer show the spare time still available.
9) For 8305 empty the Internal LNA voltage field.
10) Layout of OmniSTAR automatic selection menu is improved.

The program can be downloaded from here.

Any feedback is welcome.

How long have you been working for OmniSTAR B.V.?

Since December 2006 I have been working for OmniSTAR. I am a product engineer here at OmniSTAR and this means I test new equipment en develop new devices for our customers to work with or to make their work easier. I help customers who need assistance, by handling telephone calls in the workshop and by email support. I also send out new receivers and set them to customer specifications. All things considered, a very challenging job and no day is the same.

What do you like the most about your current function?

The variation of work means a lot to me. One day you get to test the latest receivers and the next day you are in depth supporting a difficult problem. Drive testing and static testing is important and informative. There is an endless amount of new things to learn and here at OmniSTAR they know how to stimulate this natural ‘want to know’ state of mind. I found out that customers really are thankful if you can help them out and that feels good!

Anything else you would like to share with our readers? About other activities you enjoy?

I like boating and sailing and I own my own boat. For the dark and cold winter season, I play advanced computer games (puzzle/adventure). I also own an old-timer Mini-Cooper which I maintain and upgrade myself. It is very nice to tour around on Sundays in a fun car! Furthermore I have a lovely girlfriend that is going to live with me and I am looking forward to that moment with great joy!

Disclaimer:
We hereby expressly declare that we have no influence whatsoever on the design and content of any web pages reached via links from this Newsletter. OmniSTAR BV hereby expressly disassociates itself from the content of any such linked websites and does not adopt their content.

OmniSTAR BV
The Netherlands * Phone: +31 70 317 0900 * Fax: +31 70 317 0919